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Tuesday, 21 August 2012

A Tour of Norfolk -

- The Wash, Sandringham. the north Norfolk coast, the Broads, Norwich and then a few days at Cambridge and Ely. A lovely and relaxing trip, beautiful scenery, historic sites, craft inspiration in abundance, sunshine ......

Neither of us had visited Norfolk before. It had been on our to-do list for some time. Our recent trip began from a false premiss that we needed an 11 day holiday which would start and finish by driving past East Midlands airport (our kids were travelling to and from Croatia, via Venice, with Scouts). It wasn't really feasible to travel back down to a ferry terminal and head for France - the 11 days were too limiting. Looking at a map the solution seemed obvious. An alternative solution was provided months after our holiday was booked, by arranging for the Scouts to travel to and from the airport by coach - allowing us the opportunity to start and finish our break from home in North Wales - however, our plans were already made. Having had such a lovely time we're grateful for the initial nudge in the Norfolk direction.

We began our tour at Sandringham, then travelled around the coastline, stopping over night on a cliff-top campsite at West Runton. Then on, via Cromer, to Norwich for a few days. We visited the broads, including the Museum of the Broads, before heading on to Cambridge (soooo many wonderful photos from the botanic gardens - a life-time of stitching possibilities!!). The stained glass museum at Ely Cathedral was another rich source of inspiration.

Beautiful coastlines, inland waterways, windmills, flowers in abundance, local markets, a great craft fair, historic architecture, lovely weather..... I couldn't have wanted a more relaxing and inspirational trip. Fortunately, my husband enjoyed it too. Our stay at Norwich was timed to coincide with the one-day/week opening of a printing museum which he had been wanting to visit for some while!

Over the next week or so I shall share some (I promise only a modest number) of our photos with you.

Family life, and our shared activities - gardening, walking, camping etc, together with an increasing focus on recycling, provide material for this blog and further inspiration for my craft work. It would be really great if you decided to read more. I hope you enjoy my ramblings!